The English-language forum for all things Latin American, covering business, politics, and culture.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Daily Headlines: January 21, 2016

* Venezuela: The OPEC oil cartel will likely rebuff Venezuela’s latest appeal for an emergency meeting even though the economy of the Latin American state has been battered by the plummeting price of crude.

* Puerto Rico: “Now is the time to act,” declared U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew as he urged Congress to take steps and help pass a deal to restructure Puerto Rico’s multibillion dollar public debt.

* Mexico: The U.S. State Department issued a new travel warning for visitors going to Mexico though the advisory appears to be unrelated to the recent arrest of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

* Brazil: A diplomatic tiff has developed between Brazil and Israel over the naming of an ex-West Bank settler leader to serve as ambassador to the South American country.